Parcel delivery firms TNT Express and UPS have abandoned their €5.2 billion (£4.3bn) merger after it become clear that European regulators would block the move.
Atlanta-based UPS wanted to buy TNT Express to better compete with Europe’s largest delivery firm, DHL. The tie-up would also have increased pressure on Royal Mail, which is growing its parcels business to make up for a continued shortfall in letters as it prepares for privatisation.
TNT saw its shares plunge as much as 50 per cent yesterday and said it regretted the collapse of the deal, “having believed the merger was feasible and beneficial for all stakeholders”.
The Amsterdam-based firm had offered to sell its airline operations in a bid to assuage regulators’ concerns over the merger and will receive a €200 million break fee from UPS.
The European Commission will publish its review of the deal by 5 February.